Bowl trapway glazing machine



Dec. 5, 1961 R. E. MOREY 3,011,911

' BOWL TRAPWAY GLAZING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 5, 1961 R. E. MOREY 3,011,911

BOWL TRAPWAY GLAZING MACHINE Filed April 1a, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. 26%? z 2% re BY w y "PM rar/vz/ t United States Patent 3,011,911 BOWL TRAPWAY GLAZING MACHINE Robert E. Morey, Kittanning, Pa, assignor to The Murray Corporation of America, Detroit, Micln, a corppration of Delaware Filed Apr. 16, 1958, Ser. No. 728,963 Claims. (Cl. 117-96) This invention relates to glazing machines for ceramic elements, and particularly to an automatic glazing machine for the trapway of a toilet bowl.

The present invention eliminates a difiicult operation which was present in the art of making toilet bowls, that for glazing the up-leg and down-leg of the trap within the bottom of the bowl forming the discharge passageway thereof. The bowl is of conventional form made from vitreous china material having a trapway on the surface of which a wet vitreous china glazing material is applied prior to the firing or vitrifying of the material. The bowl, after being formed from the vitreous china, requires the surface to have a vitreous china glaze applied thereto, it being necessary to have the glaze material reach the inner surface of the trapway extending upwardly from the bottom of the bowl and downwardly to the outlet formed by an annular flange or horn at the bottom of the bowl. A centrifugal blower is connected to a separating tank containing water and a series of baffies which separate particles of dust and glazing material which do not adhere to the trapway from the air stream and collect the material in the tank from which it is periodically removed. The tank has an air duct connected to the outlet horn of the bowl and a dust blowout device is employed for cleaning out the bowl before the glazing operation. This device consists of an air chuck which is moved down over the water inlet opening at the rear top surface of the bowl. A heavy blast of air is delivered from the chuck into the bowl to clean out the loose clay particles from the bottom of the bowl, the waterways, and the trapway prior to the trap glazing operation. The clay particles and dust dislodged by the air blast are picked up and exhausted from the bowl by the high velocity of air drawn through the horn and air duct into the tank by the centrifugal blower connected thereto.

The spray gun for glazing the trapway of the bowl is carried by the mechanism which manipulates the air chuck. The spray gun is moved adjacent to the bottom of the bowl with the nozzle end directed into the trapway at the time the air blowout chuck is moved into engagement with the water inlet aperture at the top face of the rear portion of the bowl. In one arrangement, the air is delivered by the air chuck for approximately ten seconds, after which the spray gun is operated for approximately six seconds. When the air delivery is completed by the operation of a timer and a second timer takes over to operate the air and glazing material delivery valves which are in the circuit to the spray nozzle, the material is sprayed into the bowl trapway for approximately six seconds. Thereupon, the timer stops and a cam shaft operates to lower the exhaust chuck from the bottom of the bowl and raise the spray gun and the blowout chuck therefrom.

The bowls are placed upon individual pallets which have an aperture which receives the outlet horn at the bowl bottom. Each pallet is moved by rollers of a conveyor into approximate position where it is stopped by oppositely disposed stop fingers which project into its path of movement. Upon the stopping of the pallet, a cam shaft is operated to operate the mechanism which moves the exhaust chuck upwardly from the tank into contact with the horn of the bowl and at the same time lowers the spray gun and the blowout chuck into their positions of operation. After the cleanout and glazing bowl are advanced along the conveyor to a point at which an arm is engaged which reverses the position of the stop fingers to permit the next bowl to advance to the glazing position in the machine. The machine is so constructed as to be able to spray the trapway of either a wash-down type bowl or a siphon jet type of bowl. This requires two adjacent exhaust chucks in one of which a plug is employed while the other has the exhaust chuck inserted therein. The air chuck is revolved at degrees to extend to the left rather than to the right and the spray gun is also revolved to have the nozzle point in the opposite direction. The siphon jet type bowl is conveyed on the same pallet as the wash-down type bowl when the pallet is turned 18() degrees. A standard conveyor advances the pallets and toilet bowls to the power-driven roller conveyor which moves a pallet and a bowl to the machine. When the bowl reaches a position beneath the blowout spray devices, a photoelectric cell stops the conveyor at the time the pallet engages the stop fingers and accurately positions the bowl in the machine. The actuation of the photoelectric cell energizes a motor which operates a cam shaft to raise the exhaust chuck against the bowl horn which extends through a hole in the pallet. The operation of the cam shaft lowers the spray gun into the bowl and the dust blowout air chuck onto the water inlet opening at the top rear face of the bowl. A timer is then actuated to cause a delivery of air to the air chuck to produce the blowout cycle which requires approximately ten seconds. The timer then causes a second timer to be energized which starts and times the glazing spray cycle which requires approximately six seconds. Thereafter, the cam shaft motor is energized to cause the cam shaft to raise the spray gun and blowout chuck from the bowl, lower the exhaust chuck from the bowl horn, and cause the stop fingers to reverse their position and start the conveyor motor. The conveyor moves the bowl and pallet past the stop fingers to a position where they strike a limit switch. The switch causes the escapement to operate and move the finger in position to be engaged by the next pallet which is being advanced by the conveyor to have the bowl accurately positioned, whereupon the above described cycle is repeated.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide a machine for automatically spraying a glazing material within the trapway of a toilet bowl; to provide a machine for glazing the trapway of a toilet bowl which first produces a blast of air through the bowl to pick up particles and dust and carry them into a separating tank from which the air is drawn by a centrifugal blower; to advance a toilet bowl into a glazing machine where it is accurately positioned and engaged by an exhaust chuck at the bottom and by a blowout device at the water inlet opening at the top and has a spray gun lowered into the bowl in position to have its nozzle direct glazing material into the trapway, and, in general, to provide a machine for glazing the trapway of a toilet bowl which is simple in construction, positive in operation and economical of manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in end elevation of a glazingma- FIG. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the machine illustrated in FIG. 2, taken on the line 3-3 thereof;

. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken on the line 4-4 thereof, and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken on the line 5-5 thereof.

The machine of the present invention comprises a conveyor bed consisting of a pair of spaced rails 11 and 12 in which shafts 13 at the ends of rollers 14 are journaled for rotation. The shafts 13 located adjacent to the rail 12 are provided with sprockets 15 over which a sprocket chain 16 extends in driving engagement with the teeth thereof. The chain is deflected between the sprockets by idlers and passes over sprocket wheels 17 and 18 and over a driving sprocket 19 of a speed reducing device 21 which is driven by a motor 22 through a belt 23. The conveyor 10 abuts additional conveyors at each end on which the bowls are advanced to the machine and carried away therefrom. Channel'elements 27 and 28 support one end of the spaced rails 11 and 12 and are themselves supported by transversely spaced upright channel elements and 26 which are connected at the top by rails 30. The opposite ends of the rails 11 and 12 are supported on an inverted U-shaped frame 29.

The bowl 31 is mounted on a pallet 32 of rectangular cross section having a predetermined width and ofiset' corner portions 33, the forward one being engaged by stop fingers to accurately control the position of the bowl. The pallet carries a circular waterproof ring of plywood on which a circular ring 34 of felt is secured in alignment with an aperture 35 in the pallet which receives the outlet horn 36 of the bowl. A substantially rectangular piece of felt 37 at the forward portion of the pallet projects into the forward open bottom area of the bowl. The bowl is accurately located on the pallets and retained thereon by the felt material and also by the projection of the horn 36 through the apertures 35 thereof. The pallet is constructed symmetrically so that it may be reversed, that is, rotated through 180 degrees to place the horn-receiving opening on the left or the right of the center for a wash-down type of bowl or for a siphon jet type of bowl, as the case may be.

.A conveyor may be employed adjacent to the advancing end of the conveyor 10 at which a stop is provided which prevents the advancement of a bowl to the latter conveyor. Stop fingers 41 .stop the pallet 32 in accurate position in the machine, while similar fingers 42 prevent the advancement of a pallet when the fingers 42 are reciprocat'ed. The fingers'41 and 42 are on opposite ends of a pivoted bar43 located at each side-of the conveyor. The bars have a lever 44 on one end engaged by piston rods '45 extendingfrom cylinders 46 which are mounted on .themachine by pivots 47. Fluid lines 48 and 49 are connected to opposite ends of the cylinders 46 for controlling the advancement and retraction of the pistons and the rocking of the arms 43 to produce the reciprocation of the fingers 41 and 42. Guide elements 51, located at the sides of the conveyor, embodying rollers and shoes, accurately position the pallet laterally of the conveyor.

As a pallet approaches the glazing position in the machine, it moves between an electric eye '52 and a light source 53 which operates a switch to open the circuit to the motor 22 which stops the'conveyor chain 16 and the driving of the rollers 14. This stopping occurs just as the pallets 32 engage the fingers 41 to thereby have the bowl accurately located within the machine. When interrupting the circuit to the motor 22, a circuit is completed to a motor 54 which drives through a belt 55 and a speed reducing unit 56 to operate a shaft 57 in rotation. The rotation of the shaft produces the raising of an exhaust chuck 58 into engagement with the horn 36 at the bottom of the'bowl', .thelowering of the blowout chuck 59 over the water intake aperture 61 at the top rear face of the bowl, and the lowering of the nozzle 62 on the end of a conduit 63 into the bottom of the bowl, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The shaft 57 carries a cam disk 65 which has a 60-degree dwell section having a shorter radius than the radius of the remaining portion of the disk. A pin 66 extends from a rectangular bar 67 and rides upon the cam disk 65. A bar 67 is secured at one end to a'shaft 68 journaled in bearings mounted on the pair of uprights 25 and 26. The opposite end of the bar 67 is welded to a bar 69 having two extending arms 70 at the ends. The arms 70 engage trunnions 71 projecting from a pair of bars 72 welded to a pair of cylinders'73 and 74 which are raised and lowered when the bar 67 is raised or lowered by the cam disk 65. The cylinders 73 and 74 are raised and lowered in a pair of sleeves 75 which extend into a tank 76 in the lower part of the machine. Either one or the other of the cylinders 73 and 74 is employed depending upon the type of bowl to be glazed. In FIG. 1 the cylinder 73 is being used having the hollow plug 58 fixed in its end. The cylinder 74 has a sealing cap 77 secured therein, the cap 77 and the plug 58 being interchanged for the difierent types of bowls. Asecond bar 79 is secured to a shaft 81 journaled in bosses 82 and having a chain 83 secured to a clevis 84 on its opposite end. The bar has a pin 85 extending therefrom in engagement with a cam plate 86 also secured to the shaft 57. A substantially 60-degree cam face 87 on the cam 86 moves the pin 85 and therefore the bar 79 downwardly to pull the chain 83 downwardly therewith. The chain extends over an idler sprocket wheel 88 and is wound around a sprocket wheel 89 to which the end 91 is secured in a suitable manner. The sprocket wheel 89 is secured to a shaft 92 which it rotates when the chain is pulled downwardly upon the operation of the cam face 87 over the pin 85 to move the end of the bar 79 downwardly. The shaft 92 has a sleeve 93 placed thereon for angular movement, the sleeve having an arm 94 rigidly secured thereto. The sprocket wheel 89 has a hub 95 which is secured to the sleeve 93 so as to rotate the sleeve when the sprocket wheel is rotated by the chain 83. A similar sleeve 96 is mounted upon a shaft 97 journaled in bearings in channel sections 98 extending upwardly from the top frame members 30. This sleeve also has an arm 99 rigidly secured thereto, the arm being the same length as the arm 94 so as to be in parallel relation to each other when secured by pivots 101 to a supporting plate 102 for the spray gun 117. Additional sleeves 104 and 105 are placed upon the shafts 97 and 92, the sleeves having arms106 and 107 rigidly secured thereto. The ends of thearrns 106 and 107 are secured by pivots 108 to arms 109 on bosses 111 which are secured to an air conduit 112. The arm 94 which is driven by the sprocket wheel 89 has an angle-shaped 'arm 113 secured thereto of a length to engage the arm 107 when it is moved upwardly thereby for raising the conduit 63 and the nozzle 62 from the bowl. The nozzle 62 must be raised a substantial distance further than the blowout chuck or head 59, and for this reason the arms 94 are longer and have a greater arcuate movement than the arms 106 and 107. When both the nozzle 62 and the chuck or head 59 are raised from the bowl and the chuck 58 lowered therefrom, the bowl may be advanced from the machine and another bowl moved in position to be sprayed.

Upon the upward movement of the chain 83, the arms 94, 99, 106, 107 move downwardly, the arm 107 leaving the arm 113 as soon as the chuck or head 59 engages the top of the bowl, the head being carried by a conduit 114 attached to the conduit 112. After the downward movement of the arms 106, 107 is arrested, the arms 94' and 99 continue to move downwardly until the nozzle 62 is accurately positioned at the mouth of the trap facing the up-leg thereof. Positioning rings 115 are employed at the ends of and between the sleeves 93, 96, 104 and 105.

The gun 117 which carries the conduit 63- and nozzle a 62 has a flexible conduit 118 connected thereto which delivers air to a cylinder from a solenoid operated valve 119, the pressure of the air being controlled by a regulating valve 121. A second flexible conduit 122 delivers air from a regulating valve 123 to the gun to force the glazing material from the nozzle which is delivered thereto by a third conduit 124. After the nozzle has been moved into the well of the bowl, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the operation of a solenoid valve 119 operates the piston in the cylinder of the gun to admit air through the conduit 122 for ejecting the glazing material from the nozzle in a line spray which fills the up-leg of the trap passageway.

The gun is mounted on a plate 126 which permits the gun to be supported in positions 180 degrees apart to have it face in the opposite direction to that illustrated in FIG. 1. With this arrangement, the machine is capable of spraying the up-leg of the siphon jet type bowl as well as the wash-down type in which the trap is disposed in opposite directions. This requires the plug 58 to be shifted from the cylinder 73 to cylinder 74 and the closure cap 77 to be placed upon the cylinder 7 3. The pallet is concentric and may be swung around l80 degrees about its center to have the passageway thereof disposed above the cylinder 74. A large centrifugal blower 127 is mounted in the bottom of the machine having the intake passage 128 connected to the tank 76 which contains water. The air from the cylinders 73 or,74 must pass downwardly and impinge on the water surface, and then past a series of baffles when drawn from the tank by the centrifugal blower 127 which is. driven by a motor 129, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

After a bowl has been advanced on the conveyor and the pallet has been accurately located by the engagement of the fingers 41, the photoelectric cell 52 having been operated, the motor 54 is encircuited and the motor 22 de-energized to interrupt the conveyor 10. The motor 54 rotates the shaft 57 which advances the cam plates 65 and 87. The cam plate 65 raises the cylinders 73 and 74 to move the hollow plug 58 into the aperture in the horn 36 of the bowl. As the face of the cam plate 87 moves of]? the pin 85, the bar 79 moves upwardly to cause the chain 83 to move upwardly. The upward movement of the chain causes the arms 94 and 99 and 166 and 197 to swing downwardly. The arms 196 and 167 permit the air conduits 112 and 114, along with the chuck or head 59, to move downwardly until the latter engages the top of the bowl. A rubber disk is carried by the lower surface of the head 59 which seals the water inlet opening 61 about the conduit 114. The finger 113 moves away from the link 1 37 which is retained in fixed position by the head 59 when resting upon the bowl. The arms 94 and 99 continue to -move downwardly until stopped by the chain which accurately locates the nozzle 62 adjacent to the bottom of the bowl, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Further rotation of the cam shaft 57 causes the cam 132 to come in contact with and open the cam operated air valve 133, which supplies air through the conduit 134- to the air cylinder 135 mounted rigidly on the frame member 36-. The piston rod of the cylinder 155 extends and depresses the valve stem of a poppet type valve 135 in the air conduit 112, thus opening the valve 136 to provide a blast of air from the chuck or head 59 to the bowl. The air blows out all the dust, ceramic and other particles from the bowl, and after approximately ten seconds the cam 132 will have progressed to the point where it releases the valve 133 and the how or" air from the head 59 is interrupted. Meanwhile, the centrifugal blower is continuing to draw air from the tank and therefore from the bowl through the hollow openir he plug The air impinges on te water in the tank which picks up the particles of dust and other material which are blown from the bowl by the air from the head 59 and drawn therefrom by the air from the blower. Thereafter, a second timer is energized actuate a switch to encircuit the solenoid valve 119 which operates for 6 approximately six seconds for introducing the air conduit 118 which opens a valve to permit the force the glazing material from the nozzle 62. The glazing material is forced in a fine spray into the up-leg of the trap passageway and is drawn by the air into the down-leg the cot and out through the outlet horn 36 into the water within the tank. At the end of the said six-second period, the solenoid valve 119 is de-energlzed and the glazing operation interrupted. A relay is operated which again energizes the motor '54 to drive the shaft 57 which thereby lowers the plug 58 and raises th nozzle 62 and the head 59 from the bowl. This latter occurs upon the downward movement of the chain 83 and the rotation of the sprocket wheel 39 in a counterclockwise direction. This rotation first raises the arms 9 and 1*6 and therefore the nozzle 62, the arms 113 the arm 3 engaging the arm 107 and thereby raising the head 5 from the bowl. Thereupon, the motor 54 is deenergized and the motor 22 energized to again drive the rollers 114 of the conveyor 1% to move the pallet from the position beneath the spray gun and chuck after the bar 43 has been oscillated to move the fingers if, inwardly and retract the fingers 41. As the pallet moves from the operating position, another pallet carrying a bowl is advanced into the machine but its movement is interrupted by the fingers 42 until the preceding pallet has moved out of its position sufficient to operate the switch 124. The switch causes the solenoid valve 1.25 to be energized and provi e a flow of air to move the pistons into the cylinders 46 and swing the bars 43 to withdraw the fingers 42 and advance the fingers ll. This permits a pallet to advance into engagement with the fingers l1, as illustrated in H6. 4, to be accurately located in the machine ready for the glazing operation which will commence upon the interruption of the light to the photoelectric cell by the bowl.

What is claimed is:

l. In a glazing device, conveyor means, a pallet of predetermined form advan ed by said conveyor means, means actuated by the pallet during its travel for accurately stopping the conveyor means and locating the pallet in'the machine, a glazing gun, a head for blowing air, means for lowering said gun and head toward the pallet, an air suction element, and means for raising said air suction element toward the pallet.

2. in a glazing device, conveyor means, a pallet of redetermined form advanced by said conveyor means, means actuated by the pallet during its travel for accurately stopping the conveyor means and locating the pallet in the machine, a glazing gun, a head for blowing air, means for lowering said gun and head toward the pallet, an air suction element, and means for raising said air suction element toward the pallet, said gun, head and element being moved simultaneously.

3. in a glazing device, conveyor means, a pallet of predetermined form advanced by said conveyor means, means actuated by the pallet during its travel for accurately stopping the conveyor means and locating the pallet in the machine, a glazing gun, a head for blowing air, means for lowering said gun and head toward the pallet, an air suction element, means for raising said air suction element toward the pallet, a tank for water in which said'element extends, and a blower having its suction side connected to said tank.

4. In a glazing machine for the trapway of a toilet bowl, a conveyor, a pallet for supporting a bowl ad vanced by said conveyor, means for stopping said conveyor and bowl to have them accurately located within the machine, a glazing gun, a blowout air chuck, an exhaust chuck, and means for moving said gun into the bowl, said blowout air chuck into engagement with the water inlet passageway at the top of the bowl and the exhaust chuck upwardly into engagement withthe drain opening of the bowl.

5. in a glazing machine for to the air to the trapway of a toilet J bowl, a conveyor, a pallet for supporting a bowl advanced by said conveyor, means for stopping said conveyor and bowl to have them accurately located within the machine, a glazing gun, a blowout air chuck, an exhaust chuck, means for moving said gun into the bowl, said blowout air chuck into engagement with the water inlet passageway at the top or" the bowl and the exhaust chuck upwardly into engagement with th drain opening of the bowl, a tank containing water beneath the conveyor into which the exhaust chuck extends, and a blower having its suction side connected to the tank.

6. In a glazing machine for the trapway of a toilet bowl, a conveyor, a pallet for supporting a bowl advanced by said conveyor, means for stopping said conveyor and bowl to have them accurately located within the machine, a glazing gun, a blowout air chuck, an exhaust chuck, means for moving said gun into the bowl, said blowout air chuck into engagement with the water inlet passageway at the top of the bowl and the exhaust chuck upwardly into engagement with the drain opening of the bowl, a tank containing water beneath the conveyor into which the exhaust chuck extends, and a blower having its suction side connected to the tank, said moving means lowering said blowout air chuck untilit engages the top of the bowl while the glazing gun continues to be lowered until in position to direct the glazing material into the trapway.

7. The method of glazing the trapway of a toilet bowl which includes the steps of, blowing air downwardly through the water passageway at the top of the bowl while a suction of air is applied to the drain opening of the bowl, spraying the glazing material into the trapway upon interrupting the blowing of the air and while the suction air draws the sprayed material from the upleg into the down-leg of the trapway.

8. The method of glazing the trapway of a toilet bowl which includes the steps of, blowing air downwardly through the water passageway at the top of the bowl while a suction of air is applied to the drain opening of the bowl, spraying the glazing material into the trapway upon interrupting the blowing of the air and while the suction air draws the sprayed material from the up-leg into the down-leg of the trapway, said suction air being passed through a medium to separate the dust particles and glazing material fromthe air before it is exhausted.

'9. The method of glazing the trapway of a toilet bowl which includes the steps of, producing a stream of air through the bowl to clean the internal surface thereof, and spraying glazing material into said trapway while air is being passed therethrough to draw any surplus sprayed material from the trapway.

10. The method of glazng the trapway of a toilet bowl which includes the steps of, producing a stream of air through the bowl to clean the internal surface thereof, spraying glazing material into said trapway while air is being passed therethrough to draw any surplus sprayed material from the trapway andpassing the air and contained surplus material through a cleansing medium before the air is discharged to atmosphere.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 859,164 Zunner July 2, 1907 1,991,620 'McMullen Feb. 19,1935 2,189,783 Eberhart Feb. 13, 1940 2,336,946 Marden Dec. 14, 1943 2,383,023 Sykes Aug. 21, 1945 2,410,422 Breene Nov. 5, 1946 2,447,337 Hoch Apr. 17, 1948 2,519,685 1 McPhee' Aug. 22, 1950 2,520,397 Green Aug. 29 1950 2,734,832 Lewis Feb. 14, 1956 2,793,611 Friderici May 28, 1957 

8. THE METHOD OF GLAZING THE TRAPWAY OF A TOILET BOWL WHICH INCLUDES THE STEPS OF, BLOWING AIR DOWNWARDLY THROUGH THE WATER PASSAGEWAY AT THE TOP OF THE BOWL WHILE A SUCTION OF AIR IS APPLIED TO THE DRAIN OPENING OF THE BOWL, SPRAYING THE GLAZING MATERIAL INTO THE TRAPWAY 